esther and whiteface make 46!

in just under eight hours of hiking adam and i finished esther and whiteface bringing us to the finish of our quest to complete all of the 46 adirondack high peaks! i'll be writing the rest of my trip reports and submitting them to my correspondent ASAP in order to officially become an adirondack forty-sixer!
we started from the atmospheric sciences research center. while this trailhead shaves some distance off the total hike it leads you up a less than beautiful first mile of loose rock on a very steep trail up marble mountain. luckily, once you reach the summit of marble the trail becomes much more enjoyable albeit no less steep. the trail was also very wet and muddy. waterproof boots were well appreciated, especially after seeing so many folks on the trail in just running sneakers.

just one portion of the "trail"

there's not much i can say about esther that hasn't been said before. the herd path to the summit is relatively flat and painless, but is very muddy. while there is no view, there is a plaque which offers some gratification for the walk.
back on the wilmington trail we headed for the summit of whiteface, passing ski trails and a lift, soon coming to the intersection with the scenic highway to the top of the mountain.

encountering whiteface veterans memorial highway

undoubtedly this is a strange high peak experience to encounter so much "civilization" on a summit. the final part of the hike is quite steep and you emerge onto the summit (and into a gaggle of tourists) from behind the tower on the peak. it is an interesting mix of folks - lots and lots of them. you can tell who drove up the mountain mainly by their lack of muddy clothing and that they do not sit on the rocks (too dirty).

no lack of company on the summit

we certainly underestimated the mighty winds of whiteface and were woefully underdressed. it was cold enough to see your breath. adam had a difficult time "uncorking" our little bottle of champagne. despite the conditions we spent at least a half an hour on the summit. the clouds were below the summit making it feel like you were on top of the world.

the "view"

a little more than two knee breaking hours of descent and we were back at the car, in disbelief that we had ACTUALLY DONE IT!!!

more photos from this hike are here.

more photos documenting (most of) our 46r trips are here.

two years ago.

skylight - #44

we are only one dayhike away from becoming 46rs after this weekend's backpacking trip. we spent three days camped at flowed lands and climbed mt skylight. so many people say this is their favorite high peak and after seeing the summit on a clear day i can understand why.






many more pictures here.

bear point - tongue mountain range.

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- more photos here -

berry pond preserve.

after purchasing the newest edition of the adk's eastern region trail guide we discovered an unknown (to us) trail system right in our backyard and yesterday we set off to explore the lake george land conservancy's berry pond preserve who's trailhead lies within the lake george recreation center.
the park was nearly empty which seemed unusual for a perfect saturday in summer. in order to get to the berry pond preserve trails you need to hike through the rec center's maze of hiking/cross country ski/snowshoe system. there are blue trail markers to help you find your way through but there are a few tricky intersections where we lost our way. luckily all of the trails tend to intersect so we found the trail register within 20 minutes.
we chose to take the full loop which includes climbing to the height of land and the two scenic overlooks, and walking around berry pond itself. the hike up to the scenic overlooks was more strenuous than we expected. some sections were very steep and you gain (then lose) 1,000 feet.

the view looking northeast to lake george

the view looking southwest to butler pond

after descending the "mountain" the trail quickly leads to berry pond which is a stunning example of an active beaver pond with multiple dams and lodges. great blue heron nests can also be seen in the tall dead trees throughout the pond. unfortunately our plan to hike around the pond was thwarted by the beavers plans. a dam was created near the far end of the pond which flooded the trail and makes it impassable. regardless, it was fascinating to see all of the chewed and downed trees, and all the other clear evidence of beaver activity.

this is just one example of the beaver chew.

here is where the beavers decided that the trail around the pond ends.

great blue heron nest

sacandaga campground.

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(more pictures here - including some pretty frightening dobsonfly pics)

montcalm point.

summer is here and it's getting off to a proper, humid start. the cats are splayed akimbo all over the floor. you know it's pretty extreme if the felines are uncomfortable with the heat.

adam and i went on a hike with the dog to kick off the longest day of the year. we chose to trek the northwest bay trail in the tongue mountain range. it's a significant 10.8 miles round trip but it's mostly flat. there are some sporadic climbs and descents when going over hills and ridges but the trail follows the shore of lake george so it's easy to overlook the exertion.



we stopped and started along the way to let the dog swim and to snap some photos. despite the fact that the trail is so close to the water and the recent amount of rain, the trail was muddy in limited areas. it took us a little over two hours to get to montcalm point from the clay meadow trailhead, passing multiple possible campsites along the waters edge.
a quick swim was a great reward upon arriving at the southern most tip of the tongue mountain range!

short but steep.

oh, hadley mountain...your short distance betrays your difficulty. 1,525 feet of elevation gain in 1.8 miles? i won't hold it against you though-you big lump of rock-because it's all worth it in the end.

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(more pictures here)

happy april!

lake george from shelving rock

sometimes you need to just get outside and get some fresh air to remember how simple and vital life really is.
i hope you all recharged over the weekend!

fire pit on shelving rock mountain.

(7x10" watercolor on paper)

a favorite adirondack walk.

the short trip up to the summit of shelving rock mountain is one of our favorite, no-brainer local hikes. a brisk 1.7 mile walk will reward you in under an hour with amazing views of lake george and the surrounding mountains. we even found a new vista on our trip up yesterday, perfect for watching the turkey vultures soar on thermal air currents.

(more photos here)

fifth peak.

saturday was a picture perfect autumn day; crisp temperatures and cerulean skies. it was much too perfect to waste a work out at the gym; especially when there are dozens of mountains to hike within 45 minutes drive.


going north through the super charming town of bolton landing, we chose to summit fifth peak, one of the many summits included in the tongue mountain range on the east shore of lake george. there are supposed to be timber rattlesnakes in the tongue mountain range, but i have never seen one. i'm not sure if this makes me lucky or not.


from the clay meadows trailhead, the summit of fifth peak is about five miles round trip. unfortunately, there is an incorrect trail sign about a quarter mile in from the trailhead that suggests the full trip to fifth peak is over 10 miles.


the short but steep climb is through some of the most beautiful woods in the adirondacks. the summit has open, grassy areas where multiple vistas can be seen. there's even a (slightly beaten down) leanto at the top. it would certainly make a great campsite despite the fact you would need to carry in all of your water.

(more photos here)

a perfect autumn day.

a hearty brunch to start the day, home made by my awesome husband. that rockhill bakehouse marble rye is so delicious.

checking out the foliage while making our annual trip to hick's orchard in granville, ny.

we picked a half bushel of perfect jonagold and northern spy apples, then went to the cider house for cinnamon sugar donuts and a bottle of apple wine.

a hearty, spicy vegetarian chili in the slow cooker to be enjoyed with a sparkling apple wine and a scary movie!

sawteeth mountain.

what better way to celebrate your one year wedding anniversary than to hike 14 miles and summit a high peak?
we started from the st hubert's parking area at the ausable club at 8:45, signed in at the amr gate and began walking the lake road. i hate to say it, but there is little interest to this road after the first time you walk it. we arrived at the dam around 10:00 and were glad to start hiking an actual trail. taking the trail beside rainbow falls up, we reached the summit around noon. it was windy and quite cold up top but offered a fine view of the great range.

15 minutes later, with frozen fingers and full bellies we began the descent to ausable lake via the scenic trail. this is a steeper trail and added almost a mile to the trip. there were many lookout points perched on the cliffside scramble down offering views to the southeast that weren't available from the summit. the final portion of the scenic trail that follows the lakeshore was a rugged crawl over glacial erratics. it took us nearly three hours to descend from the summit back to the dam.

the mind-numbing walk of the lake road followed and we were back at the car by 4:45, making it an even 8 hour day.
(more photos here.)

a lot of laughing.

you know, the following pictures might not accurately capture all of this past weekend's camping trip to lake harris. scratch that-they definitely don't.
how could you encapsulate a gigantic amount of awesome laughter, abundant food, positive energy, and fireside banter into a handful of photos?
we were surrounded by amazing people all with the same brash sense of humor and an excellent recall for eighties movies. it made for conversations that always ended in brays of laughter that were so intense your cheeks hurt from the effort.
we considered who our doppelgangers would be and tried to determine their names.
we debated whether that streak across the crystal clear night sky was actually the milky way or just a "bunch of clouds". (it's definitely the milky way.)
there were bald eagles and a roving bunch of very large raccoons who pillaged our food on the second night.
did i mention there was a lot of laughing?